Tales of a Snake
by Latina Gold Finch
Summary: Cowritten with Dark Elf2. Learn of the Titans newest member and how her past will effect their future. Eventual SpeedyOC.
1. Chapter 1: Not Your Everyday Bar Scene

Disclaimer: We don't own the Titans, the Justice League, or just about anything else. We own a whole four characters, you'll meet them all later.

Timeline: Goes AU from the end of season 4 there will be no Doom Patrol.

Chapter 1: Not Your Everyday Bar Scene

The music roared above the chatter in the building. Chaney's was busy as usual with its new and old customers, it being the one bit of neutral territory for Meta's in Metropolis.

As a new face walked in, she glanced around the room. She was surprised by the glances she received, not that they came, but that they were of physical attraction not repulsion. Those watching saw as she seemed to physically relax, some of the tension leaving her. She was at home among those much like her.

As she walked up to the bar she watched the glances of the men, some showed intrigue, others showed simply lust. Her body was long and lean and every curve was accentuated by the sculpt of her muscles. Her skin shined in pale gold, the dance lights reflecting off her scales. Her long pitch black hair flowed down to the small of her back. Her clothes did nothing to stop the stares, wearing only a tiny pair of shorts and a shirt that amounted to a bra.

With a grace that was both natural and unnatural at the same time she sauntered up to the bar and waited to be served. While waiting three men came up behind her. Two were obviously not human, one looking like a minotaur come from myth and the other like a cross between a hawk and a man. The last was a wiry little man who looked more or less normal, but in Chaney's bar, who knew. It was the minotaur who led the trio.

In a deep rumble of a voice the big man attempted to get the girl's attention.

"Hey Gorgeous, you here looking for a good time?"

The girl who seemed almost tiny compared to this mountain of a man stared up at him with black serpents eyes.

"Not in the slightest. Go away."

As she turned back to the bar, the man-bull's brow furrowed. Not wanting to be embarrassed by this tiny little thing he reached out a massive hand and forced her to turn around.

"Look girl, I don't take no for an answer!"

She looked at the large hand holding her arm, then glances up at the large man.

"Let go!" she demanded.

"Why should I?"

"This is why!"

The eyes of those around who had been watching widened as her arm was suddenly free of the massive grip and the girl was now holding the wrist of the mountainous man. And he appeared to be in some amount of pain.

"Let go you stinking BITCH!"

"You threatened me, I am now ending the threats. Go away."

The large man attempted to throw a punch at her with his free hand, but the moment he tried the girls grip tightened and those around heard the bones in his wrist snap under the force. This was quickly followed by a loud scream.

At the sound of the scream the other two men snapped out of their apparent trance and moved to help their friend. Both were stopped by a man behind them. They turned to see an older man with brown hair that was just starting to go grey.

"Don't you know it isn't nice to pick on a lady?"

The two didn't respond but instead threw punches at the old man who was impeding their way. Both punches missed terribly. The return shots however struck both men square on the chins dropping them both to the ground.

"I could have dealt with them."

The older man looked to see the girl who still had a solid grip on the man-bull.

"Yeah, but you were busy, besides I don't like bullies."

To end that statement he threw a final punch that left the raging bull unconscious.

When the body slumped to the ground the girl released the wrist.

"I thank you for your help."

"No problem. Now then, can I buy you a drink?"

"I will have milk please."

"Sure," the older man turned back to the bar, "Hey Marcus, A milk for the kid and a Bloody Mary for me."

Rather quickly the drinks appeared and the two seated themselves at the bar. As they sat one of the bartenders hopped over the bar and picked up the fallen three idiots and began to haul them out of the bar, grumbling all the way. While he was doing that, another bartender, this one with a full head of gray hair walked up to the two of them.

"Hey Ted, don't see you in these parts as much anymore."

"Yeah, well I've been up in New York mostly. Got my old job back."

"I see. So whose the little lady?"

"Don't know yet, let me ask?"

The man now identified as Ted turned to the scaled girl.

"So, what's your name cute stuff?"

"My name's Kira." They then noticed a slight accent to her s's

At that Ted turned back to the bartender.

"Well there you go, you know just as much as I do."

The bartender glares at Ted for a minute. Then he turns to the now somewhat confused girl.

"Sorry about the moron here, I'm Chaney, this is my bar."

"Oh, hi," she responded, unsure of how to react.

"You handled yourself rather well there Kira. You wouldn't happen to be looking for a job would you?"

"Maybe, why?"

"Cause if you can handle yourself that well, I might have a job for you. My last bouncer decided he didn't like the atmosphere in here and left. With him gone I am a little short handed and as you saw my bartenders sometimes have to clean up the fights. If your even half as good as you seem to be you could handle the job easily."

"How much you offering?"

"500 a week. Plus one free meal a night."

"Sounds good. Know any cheap apartments around, I just got here today."

The bartender stopped to think which is when Ted broke back into the conversation.

"I know a guy who doesn't care who rents from him so long as you pay him on time. I could take you to see him."

"Fair enough." She looked back at Chaney, "Can I start tomorrow night?"

"Sure kid. We open at 9, be here early."

She nodded to him and then looked expectantly at Ted.

"Oh alright." He chugged the last of his drink. "So what's the damage?"

"You got me a bouncer its on the house."

"Thanks, lets go kid."

The two walked out the main door and around back to the parking lot. Ted walked up to a wicked looking motorcycle, grabbed the helmet off the bar and tossed it to Kira.

"Here, you'll need that more then I will. Hop on."

She caught the helmet and slipped it on her head then climbed on the bike behind him. And then they were off. Their destination, she found, was not very far from the club. Ted pulled up in front of a well kept three story building.

"Come on, lets go talk to Frankie."

"You sure I can trust this guy?"

"Oh sure, he's a big softie once you get to know him. Though his appearance might surprise you."

She stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Worse then mine?" she questioned.

He looked at her and grinned. "Lets just say he's a little different. Come on."

Somewhat confused she followed him into the building. He walked up to the first door and knocked forcefully then waited for a response. From the other side of the door came a yell.

"Who the hell is it?" the voice was slightly accented but Kira had never heard the accent before.

"Hey Frank, it's Ted. I got you a customer if you've got an opening."

"Ted you old reprobate, I'll be right there."

They waited a few more seconds as the sounds of rummaging and other strange noises came through the door, but finally it opened, and sure enough Kira did seem a bit startled by Frank's appearance. His skin was a pure blue color, his hair was a darker shade, and his eyes were practically glowing red. He turned those red eyes to face Kira as he sized her up.

"Greetings little one, I am Kithfrankurando formerly of Thresh. I assume you are my customer?"

"Uh, yeah. Where is Thresh?" she asked with confusion.

"Orbiting around one of the stars on Orion's belt."

"You're an alien?"

Frank looked at Ted. "This one's quick, Ted. Where'd you find her?"

"Over at Chaney's. Your looking at his newest bouncer."

"This little thing. Why am I not surprised." He looked back at Kira. "Well I have one opening, and if you are working at Chaney's you can definitely afford the room. Its not that big but it should be good for you. Let me take you up there."

He reached around his door and grabbed a set of keys off the wall.

"Follow me."

They walked up to the second floor, to room 2C to be precise. When he opened up the room Kira glanced around him to take a look inside. As he said it wasn't too big, but it was bigger then her last place. And it even had some furniture.

"The last tenant took off without paying and left some furniture, so you should be okay for now."

"Its more then fine. How much was it gonna be?"

"600 a month. And so long as you don't abuse my electric bill, that's covered too."

"Sounds good, I guess. Do you need any up front?"

"Nah, just give me the first payment by the end of the month."

"Sounds good."

"Well you seem fine kid, I am gonna get going," Ted said.

She looked back at him.

"Thanks for the lift, you gonna be at the bar tomorrow?"

"I may have to work, but I'll be around now and again."

With a nod from Kira and one handed over key the three went their own ways.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Over the next four months she got very used to her daily routine. She would spend much of her days enjoying the new freedoms she felt with her apartment and the ability to wander the streets and even sleep as late as she wanted, which was usually pretty late since she worked till 5am. And with all the money she made she was able to afford a few comforts. She even got herself a cell phone, though the only numbers in it at the moment were the bar's numbers, Frank's, and Ted's. And the food she was able to get made her one very happy girl.

Back at the bar she was doing so good that Chaney even gave her a raise after only a month. She just had a knack for handling the guys who thought they could cause trouble. Though she steadily refused to admit where she learned how to fight, because Ted especially could tell that she had real training not just natural ability.

But it was just after her fourth month there that trouble occurred. Someone was breaking into different apartments around her neighborhood, though nothing was ever taken, as if the thief was looking for something specific.

It happened on a Wednesday, which was the day she normally got off early. So it was about 2am when she was walking back to her apartment when she saw someone sneak out of Frank's window with something under their arm. Despite the darkness she could clearly make out the feminine shape of the person. The thief then scaled the fire escape on the next building and hopped up to the roof. Without much thought Kira tore up the fire escape after her. She began running across roofs chasing after the thief. Unfortunately despite her obvious enhancements, extra speed was not really one of them, so despite a good chase she eventually lost the woman.

She stopped on a roof and glanced around trying to find her. That was when she heard the sound, it was a loud popping noise kind of like a firecracker. She turned in the direction of the sound and just saw as the, she wasn't sure what it was hit her. A metal cord rapped tightly around her. When it finished wrapping around her she lost what little balance she had left and collapsed on the roof.

"So, you are our little sneak thief."

She looked up at the voice and was faced with a man in all green, complete with a pointy feathered hat. And in his hands was a bow. She had been watching enough TV to recognize him. This was Green Arrow. Which meant she was in trouble.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Come on, you sneaking around on roofs, and this just happens to be the neighborhood with all those break-ins. Come on kid, I'm sure you can add."

"It just so happens I was chasing the thief and she got away."

"Sure kid, that's what they all say. Watchtower, I have two for transport."

In a flash of light the rooftop vanished and Kira felt cold steel underneath her. And it had suddenly got very bright in here and for once she actually had to blink. When the spots faded from her eyes she stared around the room at the many figures surrounding her. All of which she had seen on television. And she knew where she was.

"Ah shit."

"Watch your mouth kid." This came from behind her. She had to crane her head around to see who, it was a figure in a very well known blue and red suit. Superman.

"I'll watch it once you let me go, I didn't do anything."

He looked over to Green Arrow who was talking to J'onn J'onzz.

"I found her crawling across rooftops in the neighborhood with all the break ins. Brought her up for questioning."

"I see. So what did she say down there."

Not waiting for Arrow's response Kira yelled from the floor. "I DIDN"T DO IT YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Superman reached down and grabbed the cables that still held her tightly and lifted her into the air.

"You are really starting to annoy me, you know that?"

"Yeah well I am really starting to…" she stopped mid sentence as she seemed to start looking around. That was when Superman noticed that the tip of her tongue seemed to be flicking in and out of her mouth. Then she took in a deep breath.

"TED WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU I KNOW YOU ARE IN HERE!"

This startled everyone in the room enough that nearly all conversation stopped and all heads turned in her direction. That was until the return call came.

"Who the hell wants me that bad I just got here a few minutes ago?"

Kira was a bit confused, she knew it was Ted, his smell told her that, but unlike the clothes she normally saw him in he was now wearing a black bodysuit with a mask that looked like some kind of large cat.

"Ted would you tell them to let me go."

His vision finally settled on the girl in Superman's hand.

"Kira? What in the sam hell are you doing here girl, shouldn't you be at work."

"It was my early night, I was heading home and I saw someone leaving Frank's window. I chased her across the roof tops but lost her after a few too many roofs. Then when I was trying to find her bow boy here nabbed me and brought me up here. Now would someone PLEASE UNTIE ME!."

Superman looked back at Ted. "Wildcat you know this girl?"

"Yeah she's the bouncer down at Chaney's."

"Alright then." And with just a twist of his wrist the metal ropes ripped apart.

"About damn time," muttered Kira.

"I heard that young lady."

"Like I fucking care."

Ted who had pulled his hood back held out a hand to the very pissed girl.

"Sorry kid. So, haven't seen you in a bit, how's work treating you?"

"Honestly, its been getting boring. I have to throw out the same morons every week. It's a little repetitive. Wasn't sure what to do about it though."

"Hmm. No idea, eh?"

"Bored huh?" This surprisingly came from Green Arrow, who was looking slightly apologetic.

"Yeah why?" she ask with a cautious look.

"Well I was talking to Speedy earlier and things had been going pretty quiet with the Titans recently. Maybe you could spice things up a bit."

"The Titans?"

"Yeah, a group of the younger heroes around these days. If you are bored dealing with the same drunks why don't you try something a little different," his last word was hinted a bit.

"Sounds interesting. One question though."

"What's that?"

"Who's tall, dark, and glaring over in the corner?"

A dozen heads snapped around to stare into the only corner nearby and sure enough Batman was standing in it. He even seemed a little surprised that someone had even seen him.

Flash who had been listening the whole time looked between the surprised Batman and the kid who noticed him.

"Oh this is gonna be fun…"


	2. Chapter 2: New Face, Same Titans

Chapter 2: New Face, Same Titans

Before Kira knew that it happened the decision was made and she was given a room to sleep in until the next day. However she did feel a familiar unease, as though she was being watched. She wouldn't have been surprised if there was a hidden camera in the room she was in but she trusted that she was safe and found sleep quickly.

The next morning, well the time wasn't really known since she was out in space, she awoke and was ready for her new way of living. After wandering for a few minutes she found one of the figures that over heard her situation the night before. A woman in a white exercise outfit, Kira recognized her because she was the only one with real wings in the room.

"Um...excuse me?"

The winged heroine turned to her and just stared.

"Do you know where I can find Ted, um Wildcat?"

Kira just waited momentarily before the woman turned and simply said, "Follow me."

While they walked Kira decided not to comment much. She assumed this was one of the members that preferred to talk less. They finally approached a door that opened to reveal another one of the women she saw last night. It was an attractive black woman wearing a skin tight brown suit showing a large amount of cleavage. The winged woman's face twisted into a smirk.

"Vixen." was the only greeting the woman got.

At this the woman took on a similar smirk. "Shaira."

Shaira led Kira into the room and with a quick glance around she found Ted. This time it was the Ted she was more familiar with, out of costume. He merely smiled and greeted her.

"Hey kid. Ready to go?"

Kira looked up at him and simply nodded. Ted then pulled her onto a platform that sent them back down to Earth. When the flash of light faded Kira found her and Ted standing in front of her apartment complex. Kira didn't have to be told twice on what she had to do. She sprinted up the stairs and into her room. Her room didn't appear to be tampered with but she checked to see if anything was missing. Of the little things she owned everything was there. She stuffed the few clothes, some CDs, and her CD player into a grocery bag. She wanted to take her food but knew that it would go bad quickly so she decided to give it to Frank instead and threw it all into another bag. When she was done she did one last check around the place and then locked the door on her way out.

She stopped to knock on door 1A and waited. Frank yelled from the other side and said, "Who is it?"

"Frank, it's me Kira."

With that said Kira heard him scurrying around his apartment to the door. When he opened he gave her a smile and said, "Kira, what can I do for you?"

"I came to tell you I was leaving and to return this to you," she handed him the key to the apartment. After he took it she reached into her pocket and pulled out some money. "How much do I owe you for the week?"

He shook his head, "Keep it kid. You'll need it more than me."

Kira then handed him the bag full of food and explained that it would all go bad if she took it with her. He merely smiled and took the bag. Before she left he was sure to give her a hug. Kira noticed then how warm he was, regardless of his appearance. She then dashed back to Ted who merely nodded toward Frank. The two then walked toward Chaney's.

They entered the building through a side door that Kira knew of. When they entered they quickly saw Chaney cleaning up at the bar and getting the place ready for the up coming night.

"Kira, what you doing here this early?" Chaney asked a little surprised.

"I've been offered a new job and I'm starting today so I thought it be a good idea to let you know I'm leaving."

"Well, it ain't like I can stop you or anything. I wish you luck, kid."

He held out his hand and shook Kira's hand. Then he reached under the counter and pulled out some money. "Here's your pay up to last night. Don't forget to stop by kid."

"I will," Kira promised. Then both her and Ted walked out the door.

As they left Chaney sighed and then said, "Now where am I gonna get a new bouncer?"

Just after he said this the door opened and closed again and a girl a little older then Kira walked in. She had reddish-orange hair, wore an orange tank-top, and green pants. She walked up to Chaney and asked, "You Chaney?"

"Yeah, why?"

"My name's Grace. I hear you get trouble here at night, want some help clearing them out?"

At this last statement Chaney just said, "Your seem a little small for the job?"

"I'm a lot tougher than I look."

After a moments thought Chaney asked, "How soon can you work?"

"How soon do you open?"

When Ted and Kira returned to the League's headquarters a shuttle was ready for them to board. Kira had to wait a few minutes for Ted to get back into his uniform. While she waited a man in what looked like a cowboy outfit walked toward her.

"Evenin' Miss. Name's Vigilante I'll be your driver for the evening."

Kira merely nodded and boarded the shuttle with him and waited for Wildcat to return.

Within a few minutes they were off and headed toward Earth. When they were in space Kira looked out of a window and merely said, "Wow."

"First time flying, Miss?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well don't be worried little lady, I ain't crashed once this week."

"WHAT?"

"He's just toying with you kid, he's been flight certified for months." said Ted, in between bouts of chuckling.

Ted walked her out of the shuttle and walked her toward what apparently was a huge T in the middle of an island. Waiting for them at the entrance at the base of the building was a girl about Kira's age with fiery red hair and green eyes. Kira didn't noticed until she was closer that the girl was floating in mid air.

"Welcome friends!" the girl said when the two reached her.

"Hello, Starfire," Ted greeted her.

"It is good to see you again, friend Wildcat. You must be the Kira we were told about."

Kira merely nodded at Starfire. She was surprised. Starfire didn't react the way she thought she would. She was expecting disgust at her inhuman appearance. But after seeing Starfire she wasn't sure how human Starfire was, since last she checked humans don't have orange skin. Starfire guided the two into the tower and up to a door which she told Kira was where they mostly hung out.

"Oh everyone will be so happy to meet you," Starfire said as the doors slid open to show a huge living room and kitchen area. There were four beings standing in the room. One girl was reading a book while floating in the air, she tore her eyes away form her book when the doors opened. The two standing next to one another, a green boy crouched on a table and a half boy half robot, looked up when the door opened as well. The fourth member didn't realize that the door even opened and continued a conversation that her was having with a boy on a huge television screen.

"Speedy, next time watch what you say to Green Arrow! The last thing any of us here need is for the JLA to be deciding who our new members should be! They don't know what it takes to be a Titan!"

"Um...Robin?" the green boy said.

"I don't know about you kid. But I would say being able to notice Batman walking into a room when Superman didn't even notice sounds pretty good to me."

The boy now identified as Robin had ignored the first comment but the second got his attention. He turned around and saw Kira and Ted standing there. The boy known as Speedy apparently could see what was going on as well and broke off the communications link. From what Kira could see in Ted's movements he wasn't pleased. Starfire was shocked when she heard what Robin had said. Kira then realized as she looked around the room that Starfire was the only one that was happy about her coming. The expressions she received from the others ranged from hostile to simply neutrality, though Cyborg did seemed impressed by Ted's mention of her ability. Kira wondered to herself if she had made a mistake in saying 'yes.'

After about twenty minutes Ted finally left the tower and left Kira and the Titans to settled their differences. Before Ted left he made sure to mention that he was going to have a word with Batman about this situation. Robin looked as if he was slashed when that comment was made. Before Ted had left he made it clear who each Titan was, the other girl was named Raven, the green boy was called Beast Boy, and the half robot was called Cyborg. He didn't bother to mention Robin since it was clear who he was. Kira did however notice that all the names mentioned were only titles none, except for maybe Raven, were actual real names. She wasn't much surprised about it, they didn't trust her and therefore thought it wasn't necessary to share a personal information as that.

Starfire was furious with the way Robin behaved that she refused to talk to him. She tried to talk with Kira but noticed that it was an impossible task now that Ted was gone. Kira didn't know what else to do so she merely curled up in a ball next to her stuff in the sunlight.

Even with her eyes closed she knew where everyone was. Beast Boy and Cyborg were sitting by the television playing a video game and Robin stood by the kitchen, watching her no doubt. Raven and Starfire were harder to detect since they could actually lift themselves off the floor. Every now and then Kira could sense Starfire's feet touching the ground. Kira assumed that Raven preferred to stay off the ground unlike herself.

After nearly half an hour an alarm sounded and a red light started to flash in the room. At this change in the scenery Kira sat up attentively. Kira saw an image on the screen of an odd looking trio robbing a bank. Robin gave the order for Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy to fly ahead, while he and Cyborg follow in the T-car. With these orders those three left. The only ones left were Cyborg, Robin, and Kira. Robin looked to her and said, "Stay here, we'll handle this."

He then ran out of the room. Kira noticed Cyborg was still standing in the doorway.

"You know, you don't have to stay here," he said with an almost grin, and then ran out the door.

Kira watched this and then ran after him. She followed after him and found him climbing into a car similar to his body armor. Before the door shut Kira stopped it and pulled it opened. Inside she only saw Cyborg and Robin, Robin in more shock than anything else.

"I told you to stay where you were!" Robin yelled at her in rage.

"You don't think I can do this? Well, I'm here to prove you wrong!" she barked back at him.

"Forget it Robin! We got no time," Cyborg then stepped on the gas and the car suddenly started to fly straight toward the city buildings. When they started to take off Kira could have sworn she saw Cyborg's red eye blink on and off in the mirror, as if he winked at her.

When they reached the bank the three climbed out. Robin glared at her and said, "Don't get in our way!"

The scene to be taken in was one to notice. The three breaking in, Mammoth, Gizmo, and Jinx were heavily engaged in their fights against Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire. Raven was levitating random objects and hurling them at Jinx who was shooting pink hex blasts which Raven was forced to dodge. Mammoth was fighting a giant gorilla, who had to be Beast Boy. Finally Starfire was in the air chasing after Gizmo and shooting Starbolts at him.

Robin ran over to assist Raven who informed him that Gizmo had planted a bomb in the bank to open the vault. Robin turned to Cyborg and yelled for him to disarm the bomb. Cyborg ran into the building. Robin then proceeded to fight alongside Raven.

Suddenly Beast boy slammed into a bus not to far from Kira and from what she could tell he looked unconscious. Kira was about to run to see if he was alright but found Mammoth blocking her way. She hissed at his interference but before she had a chance to even attack he threw an upper cut straight toward her chin and a loud snapping noise was heard that caused all fighting around them to stop. Starfire yelled at the scene when she noticed Kira's head hanging limply at the top of her spine.

There was something wrong with this picture though. Mammoth realized that her body was still standing. Before anyone could react her head rolled back around across her shoulder and finally back in its place with a loud pop. She then looked up at Mammoth with a grin and said, "Thanks, I've been trying to get that kink out for weeks."

Reacting to this he swung an arm at her stomach. She reacted quickly enough to block it but it wasn't enough to stop it from sending her into the air. She landed with a hard thud onto a mailbox which crumpled underneath her. Before she could even think about getting up, someone had grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up. When her vision started to clear she saw a maliciously grinning face staring at her as she was suspended several feet in the air. Still a little dizzy, she just noticed that her opponent seemed to be covered in a thin layer of fur.

"Hello fuzzy."

He frowned at her and then tossed her across the street slamming her against a brick wall. She fell to the concrete shortly after and then slowly proceeded to stand up in pain. She had gotten to her knees when Mammoth reached her again. He grabbed her by the throat this time and lifted her off the ground. Not wanting to be thrown again Kira swung her lower body up and wrapped both her arms and legs around Mammoth's giant arm. Once she got a grip she reached her hands up and then pulled at his pinky until she heard a loud snap. At this point Mammoth cried out in pain and released her throat and then she tightened her arms around his wrist and her legs around his upper arm. Once she got her grips locked in she began to arch her back putting Mammoth in the equivalent of an arm bar, causing his elbow to hyper-extend. At this point Mammoth was screaming in pain and trying with all his might to remove her from his arm but swinging his arm wasn't dislodging her and he couldn't grab her with his other arm due the odd angle she had his arm trapped.

Suddenly Kira noticed a giant green elephant walking toward Mammoth's back. It's trunk lifted and slammed into the back of Mammoth's head, which caused both her and him to fall toward the ground. She felt a lot of weight fall on her but was distracted by Beast Boy's next move. Still in his elephant form he crossed his legs and sat on top of Mammoth's body, leaving only his head and the arm she held onto hanging out. The elephant faced her and said, "I got this, lug. Go help the others."

Though it was hard for Kira to tell she could have sworn he smiled at her. She turned her attention toward the other two fights. Now both Raven and Robin were still battling with Jinx and they seemed to be doing well. Thinking three on one might be a little unfair she turned her attention to Starfire who was still battling Gizmo in the air. She wanted to help but there was only one problem, Kira couldn't do a thing so long as they were in the air.

"Hey, Starfire!"

Starfire looked down toward her.

"Bring him down here and I'll help you out!"

Starfire grinned in response, and renewed her assault, this time with a specific target, his jet pack. After a few more impressive aerial combat moves a lucky shot from a starbolt nicked the back of his jets and they sputtered out. He started to fall toward the ground but before hitting four long spider like legs sprouted from his outfit.

Kira looked up at him and barely had time to dodge as one of his legs came crashing down towards her. He then continued to play pin the leg on the Kira and she couldn't manage to escape the range he had on her. Kira knew she couldn't keep this up for very long, she was losing speed and fast. She then dodged the seventh try at hitting her and lost her balance causing her to fall. When she looked back up she saw a leg coming down on her and knew she couldn't move fast enough. Before she knew it she was lifted off the ground by Starfire. Kira would have been surprised by this display of strength and speed by Starfire if she hadn't spent the last three months around some rather powerful metas.

As the two were in the air they noticed that Robin was about to get blasted by Jinx but that plan failed when a blue stream of power hit her in the back knocking her unconscious. The attack came from Cyborg who said, "Boo-ya, bomb's taken care of."

With this said the Titans and Kira heard Gizmo say, "Not so fast Titans. Did you think that was the only way to set off my bomb?"

As he said this he showed the detonator to the Titans, implying that he was going to push it.

The Titans weren't sure how to respond. Suddenly Kira had an idea and said to Starfire, "Drop me on him!"

Not being one to question and unsure of what she was going to do Starfire did as Kira asked. They flew above Gizmo and she then dropped Kira. The other Titans saw this and proceeded to watch.

Gizmo was about to activate the bomb when he felt a huge weight fall on his back.

"Huh?"

Before he could even react Kira opened her mouth and displayed a pair of impressive looking snake fangs, which she then used to bite deep into Gizmo's shoulder. Almost immediately Gizmo froze in place and and they watched as his eyes raced back and forth, but that was all that moved, not a single muscle on his body seemed capable of movement. When Gizmo ceased moving Kira released him and pulled the detonator out of his hand. She then climbed down his spider legs which had stopped functioning as well. When she reached the ground she walked over to Cyborg and handed him the detonator.

"Here. That isn't my expertise."

Beast Boy approached the Titans and Kira, he had sat on Mammoth so long that he passed out from lack of oxygen. Starfire was ranting in joy of how good of a job they did together. Raven merely asked if they could go home yet. Beast Boy and Cyborg started talking about pizza and video games. Kira noticed Robin looking at her, at least she thought he was, it was hard to see his eyes behind his mask.

"Alright then Titans lets get these three where they belong. Then get some food. Hey new girl."

"Yeah." responded Kira.

"Nice work."

Kira smiled at Robin's compliment. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.


	3. Chapter 3: Snake Charms and Initiation

Chapter 3: Snake Charms and Initiation

After disposing of the trio that they caught, the six of them traveled toward a giant pizzeria. They walked in and sat in the triangle outdoor eating area. Their waiter showed up not long after they sat down. At first he recognized the Titans but shuddered a little when he saw Kira. Kira lowered her head from his reaction but she felt a hand on her shoulder when she did so. When she looked up she noticed Cyborg smiling down at her. At this action the waiter proceeded to take down their orders. The Titans decided to order something together and asked for two larges one veggies and one with everything and a soda for each.

While they were ordering Kira pulled out some money and started to count but the waiter said there was no need since the Titans got free food, in return for their services. She then simply put away her money and then ordered something for herself. What she ordered shocked all the Titans and the waiter who jotted everything down quickly. She had asked for a large white pizza with three times as much toppings put on in a normal meatlovers plus any other meat they had, two boxes of spicy chicken wings, and three glasses of milk. When the waiter was done he ran back to the kitchen knowing they now had a huge order.

"Are you going to eat all of that?"

Kira kind of blushed at Cyborg's question. She simply nodded in response.

"How?" was all Beast Boy said.

"I'm hungry," the Titans just stared at her with blinking faces. She clarified by saying, "I haven't eaten since yesterday."

"Um...I think BB here means 'how can you eat that much?'" Cyborg told her.

"No," Beast Boy said correcting him, "I meant how can you eat all that meat?"

"Normally I can only eat a medium size pizza with twice the meat and only one box of wings. To answer your question," she said while looking at Beast Boy, "my diet consists mainly of meat."

"What! Why? You can't eat vegetables?" Beast Boy asked quickly.

"Actually no, my digestive system rejects vegetables and fruits. I mainly thrive off of protein from meats and starches."

From this comment Kira noticed that Beast Boy was tearing up a bit.

"Is he alright?" Kira asked.

"He's a vegetarian," Cyborg explained.

"But friend, why does your body refuse such good nutrition?"

"I'm a snake."

"What?" was all that was said next, from who Kira couldn't tell."I'm part human and part snake, well more like snakes."

"Since when?" Robin asked her.

"Since I can remember."

"How did you get like this?" Robin started analyzing her.

"I really don't know. Something different about my DNA I think."

"So you're a snake?" Raven asked her.

"Yes," she replied while purposely exposing her inhuman tongue.

"Cool."

"How much of you is a snake or snakes in your case?" Robin asked.

"It ranges from appearance to internal organs."

"So that's why you have scales."

Kira glared at Beast Boy's comment. It was then realized that even though she was still part human she no longer had certain traits like face shape, eyes, and skin; something that she didn't liked being reminded of. In fact the only thing that resembled her being human was her long black hair.

"Alright," Robin said, drawing her attention from Beast Boy, "we'll continue with this back at the tower but for now lets eat."

As he said this two waiters came out with their orders and they started to feast. The Titans quickly learned that Kira was hungry and she did eat everything she ordered down to all three glasses of milk. The Titans never thought they'd see someone eat more than Cyborg.

The six of them rode back in the T-car but there wasn't enough room in the back for four people so Starfire had to adjust with sitting on Robin's lap, not that either mind. On the ride back the Titans were discussing their success against their opponents.

"By the way," Kira intercepted the conversation, "who was Fuzzy?"

Raven looked at her and then said, "If by 'Fuzzy,' you mean that big guy that was tossing you around?"

Kira nodded at that comment.

"His name's Mammoth," Robin explained to her.

Kira took this in for a minute and then said, "I like Fuzzy better."

The Titans just grinned or giggled at this comment.

"So who were Short-Stuff and Giggle-Box that were with Fuzzy?"

"Their names are Gizmo and Jinx. The three of them are a few of the best students from Hive Academy. An institution run by a mind controlling nut case named Brother Blood."

"Common foe?"

"We deal with them every once in a while, but Blood hasn't showed up since Cy here kicked his butt last time!" Beast Boy said with enthusiasm.

With that said the Titans started telling Kira some of their battles wit Blood.

When they reached the tower they split into two groups one consisting of Robin, Cyborg, and Kira to examine more of her powers. The other three went and did their usual routines.Robin and Cyborg led Kira to what looked like a mix between a laboratory, medical center, and a small work out area. Kira was informed that it was simply referred to as the examination room but mostly used when one of the Titans were injured.

First thing was first and that was to give her a full medical scan. They had her lie down on a bed and slid into a scanning tube. Cyborg had taken data relating from her skin texture down to her nervous system. After about ten minutes the machine was complete with scanning her and released her. When she sat back up she looked at Cyborg and said, "That machine better watch where it's poking me next time."

"Sorry 'bout that. If it makes you feel any better we all had to go through it."

She shrugged.

"Well, Cyborg?" Robin asked.

"It'll take me a little while to analyze the data collected."

"Alright, then," Robin said to him, he looked back at Kira and said, "Let's see how your combat skills really are."

Kira looked a little worried when he said this but she merely followed him out of the room and down the hall. The next room they entered was no doubt the exercise room, if not Robin and Cyborg's favorite place to hang out.

Robin led her out to a large mat area and then turned to her, "Alright, I'll use this," he walked toward a wall and pulled out a wooden staff, "choose your weapons."

He waved his hand at the wall of hand held weapons, ranging from bokens to

long swords.

"Um...I'll pass that offer."

"Very well then," he returned to the mat with Kira, "Try and beat me. Ready?"

Kira took a stance and prepared herself for combat.

"Go!"

Robin begin with a series of straight jabs with the staff, not designed to harm, but more to force Kira to back away. Instead of backing away she moved deeper in to avoid the blows, this forced robin to shuffle back so as not to lose his advantage. This time he brought the staff around in a horizontal slash aimed at her shoulder, she let this blow land solidly but she twisted to take it on the back of her shoulder instead of the side. When it hit her shoulder snapped out of its socket. With a twist and a snap it was back into place and using the momentum from the shot and Robin's own surprise at her method of blocking his blow, she was able to spin and land a heavy blow to Robin's gut.

This sent him back another step, it left him slightly winded, which for him revealed the power behind the shot, but now he was starting to understand her fighting style. While he was an offensive fighter, striking hard and fast to disable multiple opponents quickly, she was a more defensive fighter, waiting for her opponent to make a move and then countering it.

With this in mind he began to move into a series of complicated attacks this time meant to disable, but again she proved her apparent knowledge when she deftly dodged most of the strikes, and those that did hit she took on the thicker patches of scales, so she barely even felt them. Finally he came in for another big swing, this one aiming to slam into her head, but this shot never landed. Robin watched amazed as she caught the staff in mid flight. And with a quick squeeze of her hand, the top foot of the staff snapped off.

It was at this point that Cyborg chose to return. He waited patiently for the two to notice his presence. Kira was the first to look in his direction but Robin was the first to speak.

"What'd you find Cyborg?"

"A lot of interesting stuff actually." He looked at Kira and said, " I was looking at the your skeletal structure, it is very interesting. You can dislocate and realign your bones willingly, can't you?"

"If you mean like this," she said as she bent one of her elbows the wrong direction.

Cyborg simply nodded.

"Then, yes."

She noticed both their faces looked a little unnerved and she placed her arm back in its normal position.

"What else did you find?" Robin asked as the three of them returned to the examination room.

"Well for starters she wasn't kidding when she said she was more like a snake then she was human. She has nearly zero percent body fat and what little she does have is mostly located in her..."

Cyborg stopped his sentence and just looked at Kira. Kira looked down and then back up, smirking at him.

"Where does she have body fat?" Robin insisted.

"Lets not go there," Cyborg then continued his records, "You're cold blooded?"

He looked at Kira for confirmation and she nodded at him.

"Due to your snake abilities you have something known as vibratory sensing."

"Vibratory what?"

The three looked to the door and saw Beast Boy and Starfire standing there. Starfire was the one who made the confused comment. Cyborg was about to explain it to her but Beast Boy beat him to it.

"It's an ability most snakes have since they can't hear they use their skin to feel surfaces and sense movements. It's their best way of tracking their prey silently."

"Friend Kira, is this why you do not have the wear of foot?"

"Yes, Starfire that's why I don't wear shoes. It makes it easier to detect who's around me and where they are."

"Anyway," Cyborg gained everyone's attention again, "Your scaled skin is snake skin and it's tough, your skin is your armor."

"Need something better than a kitchen knife to break my hide."

"Your DNA showed mainly human and boa constrictor but their was also a trace of a viper and some other common and water snakes. Your viper trait was found in your fangs."

As he said this she pulled them down for proof again.

"They sit in your gums at the roof of your mouth. Their approximately an inch in length."

All that Cyborg mentioned received a nod from Kira.

"According to this you should be a good swimmer. And I'd also would like to test your grip strength on the Geometric Register In Pressures, otherwise known as the G.R.I.P."

As he said this he had a look of glee on his face.

Cyborg then got a little more serious and said, "The only thing I couldn't figure out is what type of venom you have running through you."

"You're poisonous!" Beast Boy said this as he leaped into Starfire's arms. Robin slightly released some steam off his head at this sight.

"Not exactly Beast Boy. My venom causes a form of paralysis."

"So, that's why Gizmo stopped moving."

"Alright but I think I'm gonna send this to S.T.A.R. Labs. See if they can come up with anything. But while we're at it Kira if you please."

He showed her a device that looked like a white column. With a few push of some buttons Cyborg shrank the column to the size of a small rod.

"Squeeze it."

With this order Kira took her hand, wrapped it around the rod, and squeezed. The rod quickly bent under her grip and a red number flashed on the top of the column. Cyborg's brow wrinkled and then changed the column's size again and restored its dented areas. This time she wrapped both arms around it and squeezed again. A larger number showed this time and then Cyborg restored its dents. At this point Kira simply wrapped her legs around and squeezed. She noticed the number on the column and wasn't satisfied. With a little more force the other four in the room heard a loud snap and saw as she removed her leg joints from her hip sockets. With that done she was able to squeeze more and dented the column farther. When she finally released the device she popped her legs back into their place.

When she stood she noted that Beast Boy especially looked a little disturbed.

"Right," Cyborg said, "like I said before you can move your bones around."

"To a point," she clarified.

"Is that why you didn't die when Mammoth forced your head into that position?" Starfire asked.

She nodded. "He didn't hit me at the right angle to hurt my spine, just snap my head back, mine just goes a little further then others."

Kira looked back at Beast Boy who stood there with his mouth open.

"Um...Beast Boy are you going to be okay?"

"That...was so...disgusting...Do it again!" he begged Kira.

Night quickly fell as the tower grew quiet and all were in bed. Kira accommodated herself in the living room under some blankets by the window. She tried to sleep on the couch but she wasn't comfortable sleeping on something designed for sitting. She instead decided on the floor for herself. Sleep didn't come quickly though. She was so use to her night shift schedule that she didn't nod to sleep until about four in the morning.

At about nine in the morning Beast Boy scurried into the kitchen to fix himself some breakfast. Not long after the other Titans were up and hustling about the living area. Kira looked up at one point and caught Starfire's attention causing her to fly over toward her.

"Good morning Kira!"

She looked at the Tamaranian and would have swung at her if she didn't lack connection from her brain to her fist. Raven noticed Kira's condition and suggested to Starfire to let her doze a little longer. At this information Starfire slowly walked away from Kira. Kira took back her position of sleep when she noticed Raven floating by her with another book.

"Thanks," was all Raven heard before the snake girl was fast asleep again.

When Kira had awoke, which was about two hours later, by the cheering of Cyborg defeating Beast Boy at another video game. She uncoiled her body and began to stretch which consisted of cracking every bone possible in her body. She stood up and walked toward the kitchen. When she got there she opened the fridge to see what she could find.

"Oh, Kira you don't have to do that."

She looked back at Cyborg in confusion.

"I made you breakfast while you were still sleeping. It's sitting in the frying pan on the stove."

Kira walked to her pre-made food and uncovered the lid. What she found put a huge grin on her face. About fifteen strips of bacon, ten pieces of sausage, three slices of cooked ham, and a few hash browns. Kira looked back at Cyborg and simply smiled in thanks. He nodded then went back to fighting with Beast Boy.

Kira then poured herself a glass of milk and began to feast on her meal. When she was done she felt extremely sated. She then spent the next hour watching Beast Boy and Cyborg go at it on the television. She noticed Raven in the room but didn't disturb her since it looked like she was meditating.

At one point Kira sensed footsteps approaching the door. Actually it was more than just one person it was about four or five she couldn't quite tell. She looked at the door just as it opened, this also drew the attention of Raven from her meditating.

Standing at the door were five beings standing proud and confident. One of the boys stepped forward and said, "Alright where's the food? It's been a long ride and I'm starving."

At this announcement both Cyborg and Beast Boy turned and looked at the door. Standing at the door was Titans East including Bumble Bee, Speedy, Aqualad, and the two little ones Mas y Menos.

"Well, don't get all excited," Speedy said when no one replied to his first comment. By this point Titans East had noticed Kira's presence and stood examining her. Cyborg and Beast Boy stood with nothing more than confused looks.

"What are you guys doing here?" Beast Boy asked drawing the attention off of Kira.

"Oh don't tell me you guys forgot what today is?" Bumble Bee asked doubtingly.

The boys simply looked at one another and then said, "Monthly Bar-B-Que."

At this statement the doors opened again and this time Robin and Starfire walked into the room. The fact of there were twice as many Titans as usual they stopped in their tracks.

"Why are you..."

"It's the 23rd," all but Starfire and Kira responded before Robin could finish his statement.

"Oh. Well, I was gonna save this for a little later but now's a good as time as ever."

Robin then walked toward Kira and looked at the other Titans.

"Titans meet our newest and official member, Kira."

As he said this he showed them a Titans communicator and gave it to Kira. At this the Titans all cheered and applauded. Titans East went and greeted themselves to Kira. Through a few exchange of words Kira learned everyone's name. When she came across Mas y Menos they greeted her with, "Hola nosotros llamamos Mas y Menos!"

She smile at them and said, "Hola me llamo, Kira."

At this response the twins' faces lit up.

"Did you know she could speak Spanish?" Bumble Bee asked.

"We're just as surprised as you are," Cyborg explained, "Hey Kira, how come you never told us you spoke Spanish?"

"You never asked."

She turned back to the little ones who were ranting about the food fight that Speedy and Aqualad got into the week before. The three got into a quick mumble of words and then Speedy who now was closer to Kira then before asked, "What did they just say?"

"They wanted to know what my hero name is. I told them I decided on La Serpienta."

At this comment most of the other Titans were listening in.

"La Ser…La Ser…..oh man I'm never gonna get it," Beast Boy said out loud.

Kira just laughed and said, "You can call me Ser if you like."

"By the way what does it mean?" Speedy asked her.

"It means 'the female snake' in Spanish."

Speedy took this in for a bit then he looked at her and said, "I like Kira better."

She simply blushed at his comment.


	4. Chapter 4: Goings on and Raised Voices

Chapter 4: Goings on and Raised Voices

The days started to fly by, Kira got more accommodated with her new life style. She learned to respect Beast Boy when ever she ate around him. The crime fighting part she quickly adjusted to. She needed more practice against Robin, since he learned her fighting style and had an easier time beating her, she had an easier time taking down bad guys. Though her older tactics were still second nature to her. Though she didn't mind the living room floor she enjoyed having a room in the tower. It took Robin and Starfire a week to clean out all the junk that was sitting there before she could move in. Though she didn't mind the emptiness in her room she put in all the stuff she owned in it anyway.

Robin was beginning to put a lot of trust in her, to the point of actually letting her know his name, she was surprised to hear the name Dick come out of his mouth. The others she learned from listening in on their conversations, Beast Boy also known as Garfield but mostly called Gar or BB. Cyborg's name was Victor but he preferred Vic aside from Cyborg, Raven was plain Raven, and Starfire's name was impossible to say so she was just called Kory. In action they called each other by their hero names but in privacy their real identities were more exposed.

Kira instantly responded to Serpienta or Ser, the guys were rather surprised she didn't hesitate whenever she was called by those names. They never thought twice about it though.

One morning the Titans communicator went off from a signal from the JLA, oddly enough it was for Kira. When she finally reached the screen she saw a huge view of Wildcat. Kira's smile grew even more then what it was. Apparently Wildcat wanted to take Kira out for the day and catch up on the times, like they usually did. The other Titans didn't deny her this chance. They knew well enough that Robin, Aqualad, and Speedy spend quality time with their mentors, though Robin's time with Batman isn't exactly quality time. And for Kira Wildcat was the closest thing to a mentor that she had from the JLA.

When Ted showed up to pick up Kira she was waiting for him in a simple black tank top and some short shorts. Ted noticed the fact that she was human when he picked her up. She informed him that Cyborg loaned her a holographic ring so she can go out in public without getting stared at. He simply smiled at her and the two left for lunch.

He took her to a restaurant in which at first Kira was denied entrance until she put on the pair of sandals that always hang from her belt when she isn't crime fighting. The two enjoyed their meals Ted with his spaghetti plate and Kira with her salmon dish, a sirloin steak, and a small loaf of bread.

"So Kira how's life been treating you?"

"Great," she answered with a full mouth, "The Titans have been an awesome bunch to be with once we got over the first couple of weeks."

"I noticed you aren't wearing you colors."

Kira knew what he meant when he said that. The fact that the news of 'La Serpienta' being one of the newest members of the Titans is still a hot topic in some newspapers. Cyborg had order a special kind of fabric for her outfit. It was a material made to mimic snake skin allow for it to be easier for her to slip out of her enemies grip, if they didn't have a good grip on her. The colors on her outfit resembled her natural skin, mostly white with a strip of gold going down the sides and a T on the front. The original out fit was suppose to cover the entire body figure but Kira was never agreeing to that so with some help from Starfire they altered it to be the usual tank top shirt and shorts she wore.

"As far as I know the guys quite admire your outfit," Ted added on to his previous comment.

"Last that I checked most of the guys enjoy the ensembles of the heroines."

"True, very true."

The two then laughed at this comment and then continued discussing their past adventures.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Come on, come on, come on-yeah!" Cyborg yelled as he defeated Beast Boy yet again in another fighting game. In the middle of his happy dance Raven informed him that he had received a message from S.T.A.R. Labs. He was a little puzzled at this and I response he went to the examination room to see what they had sent him. With his existing Beast Boy started to rave through the channels on the television.

When Cyborg had reached the examining room he started to let the message download into their system when it was done he took a quick scan over it. It was the results of Kira's venom that he had sent weeks before. He started to read it and then reread the same information when he didn't believe it the first time.

"That can't be possible?"

He pushed a button on his communicator and said, "Hey, Dick?"

"Yeah, Vic?"

"I need you to come down to the examination room. There's something you gotta see."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

When they were done eating Kira and Ted decided to take a walk through a park and continue talking. Kira was quite pleased with being able to walk on her own feet again and enjoyed not being stared at for once.

"Hey Kira?"

"Yeah."

"Has Dick ever mentioned a being known as Oracle to you?"

"Yeah," she stopped smiling at that comment, "He's been pestering me to give her some background information about myself. Says that she keeps track of every hero ever known."

"Yeah, that's her alright. So…why haven't you?"

At this comment Kira stopped walking and stared at him. Ted could tell that her history was a touchy subject and no one has yet to know why.

"What is it with you all and my past? It's in the past what more do you want to know?"

"Well…secrets aren't really kept between us."

"Oh, bullshit! You didn't have the balls to tell me who you were and I'm a meta just like you. The Titans didn't trust me to tell me their real names for some days. Heck even some of the JLA members don't even know who Batman is."

"Do you?"

She glared at him and then said, "Look! You want information? Fine! Here it is! I lived most of my life in Argentina just trying to survive. I know next to nothing about my parents except that they had sex together! And when I was fed up with the lifestyle I had I left and came to New York. After wandering for some time I came across Chaney's the rest is a no brainer," her eyes began to water up and tears started to fall. "There! You happy?"

With this statement Ted simply looked at her and said, "Yeah kid, that'll do."

After a few tries he pulled her in for a hug, "That'll do, kid."

He held her there reassuring her. When she finally looked back up at him he wiped away her last few tears.

"How 'bout I take you back now?"

She simply nodded at this statement and the two headed back to the tower. Not one word was said the whole way.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Back at the tower, Cyborg and Robin were having a private conversation about their newest member. Cyborg was still explaining what S.T.A.R. Labs had found in Kira's venom.

"So what you're telling me is…?"

"What I'm telling you, Rob, is that this this chemical running in her is…isn't natural. I mean everything else about her is real. She has real snake skin, her tongue is a like snake, even her eyes though their human size are just like a snake's. Even her fangs are real but this…this isn't."

"Did you tell S.T.A.R. Labs where you got it?"

"No, I just asked them if they could identify this substance."

"And they did. What do you know about the venom?"

"Kira has in her system a man made venom. According to S.T.A.R. Labs this chemical showed up on the Black Market over ten years ago. It's designed for small dosages to be placed in a dart, bullet, or arrow and then shot at a target. Wherever the cartridge hits it's suppose to paralyze the targeted limb or muscle, depending on where the shot landed."

"So then why was Gizmo's entire body effected?"

"Well first of all Kira probably can't control how much venom she inserts and secondly I think she bit into his blood."

"You're saying she was targeting his veins?"

"Makes sense. It's the only way to get this chemical in and spread through the blood quickly. The fact that Gizmo's adrenaline was running only sped the process up."

"How long does this chemical stuns the person?"

"It varies on how fast their metabolism is normally or if their adrenaline is high. If the person is calm an hour to an hour and half. If the person isn't calm it could wear off in 30 to 45 minutes. To an average metahuman about 10 to 15 minutes. Any of the Flashes on the other hand would only be affected for less than a minute."

"Most of those are enough time to do a lot of damage. Do you think she knows?"

"What, that her venom causes people to become paralyzed? Or the fact that she's a walking being with an illegal drug running through her body."

"And that she knows how to use it."

Cyborg reacted to his comment with a confused look.

"Think about it Vic? She can silently sneak up on a person bite them before they have any chance of defense and then when their immobile she can constrict them until death if she wants to."

"By the way you're putting it you're making her sound like an assassin."

"Who are we to know? We know nothing of her past."

"Dick, you can't just assume that of her."

"Why?"

"Because don't you think if she was planning to kill us she would have done it already?"

"All I'm saying is that we should be careful.'

"Dick," Cyborg then looked hard at him, "Listen to what your saying, man. I don't know how she got this into her system but I do know this she has watched both our backs and the others numerous times. And you know what, that's more then enough for me."

With this said Cyborg headed for the door but before he could leave the room Robin said one last thing.

"Vic, the others don't need to know about this. All I'm asking is that you keep an eye out."

Without even a response Cyborg walked out of the room.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

When Kira and Ted returned to the tower they made a quick farewell and then Ted was beamed back up to JLA headquarters. Kira watched as a flash on light beamed in and transported her friend away. She simply gazed out into the distance and then walked into the tower.

She wasn't in much of a hurry and chose to go straight to her room. She suddenly lost the interest to see her friends until the next day. She wasn't as lucky to get this wish when got to her floor and found Robin walking out from his room. She held down the urge to hiss at him.

"Kira," he said, "How was your time with Ted?"

She didn't respond she merely looked at him and kept walking. Robin paused for a moment and then followed quickly after.

"So I'm guessing you had a good time. Did you all catch up? How's he doing by the…"

Robin didn't have time to finish before Kira turned sharply toward him and yelled, "Look I would have had a better time with Ted if I knew that he wanted to see how I was really doing. Not that you thought it would be an easier way to find out about my past! Oh and next time you send someone to do that tell them that they should make sure the recorder isn't somewhere I can feel when I give them a hug. Now if you don't mind I have a punching bag in my room and it's waiting to be smashed."

With that said she turned toward her door entered and then slammed it in his face without another word said.

"You know," Robin heard from the shadows behind him. He turned and saw Raven form from the darkness. "Maybe you should let her be about that topic."

"Why? It's something we need to know. For better knowledge and trust in…"

"Robin listen to yourself?"

The boy wonder simply stared at her and waited to hear what she had to say.

"Sometimes people don't want to tell about their past because they don't want to remember something about it. Something horrible to them at least. Think about the rest of us. Gar is the only one to survive a rare disease and in a result he is what he is now. Vic told us he was in an accident and called himself a 'monster' when we first met him. Kory was sold into slavery before she escaped and found us. I…I was created to be a portal for the destruction of Earth. And what about you Dick?"

Robin turned his face away from his friend as the image of his parents dead bodies played clearly in his mind. He pushed it back in his mind and then looked back at Raven.

"We all went through hard times. She might have as well and for her she might not be ready to tell us about it. Give her time Dick. She'll tell us, when she's ready."

With that said Raven disappeared back into the shadows and Robin was left alone once again. He looked back at Kira's door and whispered, "Whatever you're hiding I'll be ready to listen, when you're ready to talk."

He then turned on his heels and went to find a late night snack before heading off to bed.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

A few days had past by and the Titans were handling simple thieves and thugs. Before they knew it the 23rd had come again and Titans West had to host again due to the fact that Mas-y-Menos had gotten a hold of one of Speedy's arrows and in result melted down half their kitchen area.

Though Speedy was getting yelled at by Green Arrow for not being more responsible for his equipment he was looking forward to the Titan get together and in seeing Kira again.

When Titans East had reached the T tower they found Beast Boy and Cyborg arguing about grilling steak or tofu. Raven catching up on some of her daily reading. And Starfire flying to the door to greet them.

"Hey, guys wassup?" Bumble Bee said as she glided over to see if she can pull the cook and the green one apart. Mas-y-Menos simply ran over to the television and started fighting over the remote. Raven found a stopping point in her book and then decided to have a few exchange of words with Aqualad. Speedy stood there looking around the room.

"Looking for someone?"

He turned and found Robin who just walked in.

"Yeah, I was wondering where Kira was?"

"She hasn't come down from her room."

"I'll go see if she up. Where's her room?"

Robin glared at him for a moment and then just told him the information. He watched as Speedy left the room and simply thought if something goes wrong she'll rip him apart.

Speedy walked quickly and up to her door and knocked. He waited a couple of minutes but he didn't hear an answer. His brow creased and he knocked again, still no answer. With this he then slowly opened the door and walked in.

He was surprised at what he saw. He knew Kira was here for over a month now but he had thought she would've had more stuff. Her bed had no frame and was simply a mattress on the floor with a few blankets and a pillow. Her closet door was opened and showed that it was only a quarter full of similar outfits, shorts and tank tops. Staring at the clothing he remember the first time her noticed her, nothing but curves and muscles. In the corner of the room he saw a punching bag that appeared to have been used well. On the dresser were a bunch of CDs and a CD player which was playing a song from Linkin Park. He couldn't hear the music through the door since the building was mainly sound proof.

Suddenly, Speedy heard a door open and he turned to see who was there. Standing in the bathroom door was Kira dripping wet from her shower and wrapped in a simple towel. Speedy's jaw dropped as he saw her there. She hadn't seen him since she was still straining her hair to dry it of the water. When she lifted her head she saw Speedy standing there redder than his outfit.

"Uhh…I…I'm so sorry! I knocked and I didn't hear a response so I…I'm so sorry!"

He reached up and covered his eyes from the gorgeous view he saw and then heard something he didn't expect. She was laughing at him. He pulled his hand down and noticed she didn't seem to mind that he saw her.

She simply walked over to the CD player and shut off her music.

"Though I don't mind the company I prefer to change in private if you don't mind?"

With that said Speedy blushed even more and dashed out of the room. When he returned to where the others were Robin asked him why Kira let him go alive. Speedy just stared at him and ignored his words. When Kira reentered the room a few minutes later Speedy couldn't help but remember the image that was still fresh in his mind and he blushed every time she smiled at him.

After dealing with their personal issues Cyborg and Beast Boy finished cooking up lunch and the whole gang sat down and started to feast. The conversations at the table was never ending as they all enjoyed themselves.

They were all beginning to split up the ice cream option an alarm went off in the building. Suddenly everyone was up on their feet defensively.

"Is the city under attack?" Bumble Bee asked.

"No," Cyborg said checking his system, "Someone has entered the island and is tearing through our defenses like a knife through butter."

"Titans GO!" both Robin and Bumble Bee said together.

The eleven then quickly made their way to the door and to where Cyborg's sensors says their intruder is located. Running as quickly as they could the Titans had their uninvited visitor surrounded. Cyborg shut the alarm off and the Titans stood there watching the being.

He was a big guy, almost as big as Cyborg, with thick corded muscles covering his body. His skin was covered in dark red scales, similar to Kira's but much thicker and heavier looking. His yellow eyes glared at every Titan around him. He wore a pair of black leather pants and a dark green vest. His hands and feet were tipped with razor sharp claws, which had obviously been used to great effect against the island's defenses. When confronted with the many weapons pointed at him, instead of a look of fear or dread, he instead straightened up and grinned in the direction of the amassed Titans, in doing so revealing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth.

"Who the hell is this?" Cyborg asked with his sonic gun aimed.

"Who ever he is he better have a good explanation for being here."

The big guy simply looked in Robin's direction and if anything his smile got bigger.

"Robin what's the word?" Bumble Bee asked.

"If he tries anything we'll…" but before he was finished he heard someone just behind him speak.

He glanced over his shoulder at Kira who was staring at the beast of a man. That's when Robin realized that the big guy wasn't looking at him but at her. He saw her eyes staring as if scared by the image and he swore that she grew paler if that was even possible for her. Her lips moved but they didn't make a sound.

"Robin?" Bumble Bee asked again.

"Titans wait!" Robin said as he kept looking at Kira.

"Ser?" Cyborg noticed her expression.

"It can't be," she finally said out loud, but just barely.

When she noticed her face Raven started to sense her emotions and then asked, "Serpienta, do you know him?"

Kira kept staring at their intruder and when she seemed to finally regain control over her self asked, "Drake?"


	5. Chapter 5: Conversations and Explanation

Chapter 5: Conversations and Explanations

"Drake?" the name barely came out as a whisper from her lips but everyone heard her. Kira stood there frozen with shock on her face as she stared at the now identified creature known as Drake.

None of the Titans knew what to do, in fact none knew what was going on. Robin had a hard time reading either's expressions and Raven had a hard time identifying their feelings, she was distracted by everyone else's feelings she couldn't find Kira's or Drake's. The rest simply stood there and watched, because both Bumble Bee and Starfire flew down to the ground and Raven was only inches above it.

Finally when Beast Boy was about to lose his mind in waiting, Kira moved. When Kira reached Drake she looked up at him while he gazed at his own reflection in her black eyes. She noted every detail in him from his yellow eyes to the hulky scales that he had. Then the Titans saw something that none of them have ever witnessed before. Kira began to cry, tears flooded down her face as she leaned forward and was caught by Drake in a comforting hug.

"Shh…it's okay. It's okay, Kira. It's okay," Drake responded as he held her in his arms.

At this all the Titans placed their weapons down and looked toward their leader for the next move. Robin gulped slightly when he wasn't sure at first of what to do, so he decided to wait before he said anything.

Kira finally pulled away from Drake's embrace and wiped her tears away. Robin approached the two and asked, "Kira? Who is this?"

She didn't respond at first but then said, "This is Drake, one of my brothers."

"Brothers?" Beast Boy asked confused.

"Yes," Drake said with a deep voice, "One of two. Our fourth member is our sister."

"Member? Of what?" Robin asked suspiciously.

"Of our family," Kira said, looking a him harshly.

"Friend Kira why have you not told us of this 'family' before?"

Kira looked at all her friends and she didn't know what to say. She couldn't say it, not like this. The expression on her face was more than enough to worry the other Titans. What she said was not what they expected.

"If you all don't mind, I'd like to have a few words with Drake in private?"

Without really getting a 'yes' from anyone Kira started to guide Drake towards the water away from the Titans.

Robin's brow furrowed as the two walked away. "Hey Cyborg?"

"Before you even ask the answer is 'no.' I will not allow my system to listen in on their conversation."

Robin was about to yell at him but before he had a chance he felt a hand on his back. He turned and found Raven behind him. She didn't even have to say anything he simply sighed and nodded. Raven neither smiled nor frowned she simply stared at the two in the distance along with all the other Titans waiting expectantly.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

When she believed they were far enough away Kira stopped and looked at a memory of hers that she hadn't seen in months. She couldn't say anything, in fact the hundred questions that ran through her head wouldn't leave her mouth. When she didn't say anything Drake decided to speak instead.

"It's good to see you, little one."

"We thought you were dead," the explosion replayed itself in her mind.

"The building blew up, but you guys always seemed to forget that I'm fire proof. And I always was the strongest of us. Getting out of that building was simplicity, even after it came down."

"Never did let anything keep you bound," she smiled back at his grin.

"Yeah, that's me. After I got out, I went looking for you guys, but I lost you three when you hit the city. I have been trying to find any of you since then, but didn't have any leads until I saw you on the news. With these 'heroes.' Then I just had to get up here. I would guess from their reactions that you didn't tell them much?"

"Not really, I told them about Argentina and that I had been this way as long as I could remember."

"Well, then maybe we should fill in the blanks. When I saw you on the news, I went digging. These are good people. They'll understand."

At this comment Kira shook her head.

Drake smiled at her and then said, "Oh yeah, any idea where the others went?"

"No, we agreed that we needed to split up. We thought it would be safer."

"I see. I think your friends are getting worried. Do you want me to explain it to them?"

The look she gave him was all the answer he needed.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Both teams and their guest were now gathered in the main room of the tower. All were staring intently at Drake.

"First I would like to apologize for your defensive systems. Your offshore communications device did not seem to be functioning. So I decided to swim across, when I arrived, I got a warning from your system, and then I was attacked, I responded in defense only."

Cyborg, gave him a look at this. "I will take a look at the call box later."

"Now, I understand that there are some questions regarding mine and Kira's origins. The first thing I want you to know is that Kira did not lie to you in anyway. What she said was true. We did grow up in Argentina. And how we are now is how we have been for as long as we have known. But based on what we learned we were once fully human."

At this point he began to pace back and forth, as if searching for what to say.

"For most of our lives we, that would be me, Kira, and our brother and sister, resided in a research facility. There we were raised, being taught the full extent of our unique abilities. And as we got older the training got harsher. More violent. I am sure you have noticed that Kira has some impressive skills in combat. And you saw what was left of your defenses when I was through with them. We have been learning to do that since we were five. We had no idea why? Until about a year ago. That was when we met the man who claimed he was our 'father.' Thaddeus Sivana. It was he who finally revealed our true purpose to us. We were soldiers. More specifically, we were assassins. Weapons to be sold to the highest bidder. Despite all of their training, we were still individuals. We agreed that we would not be used in such a way. So first chance we got we used our powers to break out. Trashed most of the building on the way out. We were almost home free when several robots that had acted as training targets blocked our path. I kept the robots busy while the others could escape, in doing so I ended up bringing the whole building down on top of me. One of the robots ended up exploding, and while that didn't bother me much, the building had taken about all it could and I spent the next day digging my way back out. Once I got out I started hunting for Kira and the others, but we ended up not being to far from a city. I lost them there and didn't have any leads until I saw Kira on television. After that it was just a matter of getting across the country, since I was hanging out in Miami at the time."

During the story there had been varied reactions. Robin had remained stoic, though he had reacted slightly to the name Sivana. Cyborg had listened calmly through most of the story, but the mention of people as weapons had him rather pissed. Bumble Bee, and Aqualad were as well stoic throughout the story. Starfire seemed sad. Beast Boy and Mas y Menos seemed confused. And Speedy had actually gone to sit next to Kira, for he had noticed she was reacting badly to the recounting of her former life.

The odd one out was Raven. Her expression through out the entire story was similar to her normal dour look, but Robin had noticed that her expression had shifted just slightly near the end of the story. He stood ready to ask her when things got quiet again.

"You said that you 'were' human. What changed you?" Robin began the interrogation.

"Based on the information that Dr. Sivana told us our DNA was altered with the use of obviously animal DNA. With some high tech quality and numerous geniuses in that building they made it work in our bodies. And when the alterations were accepted we were then trained as if our animal features weren't unnatural. Kira and the others were each made off of a specific set of animals. Hers for example are snakes. I was different. You can't tell, but I am actually younger then Kira, I was to be the most powerful. They took what they knew and combining the various DNA they got what they wanted in me, a Dragon. Only thing I can't do is fly…"

"You mean you can breathe fire?"

Drake turned his attention to Beast Boy. Instead of a verbal response he let out a snort which caused small embers to spout from his nose.

"Dude, that's awesome!" Beast Boy said with a grin.

"What happened to your parents?" Robin questioned the two.

"They abandoned us."

"Drake!" Kira said with shock on her face as she looked up and her counterpart.

"What?" he said looking back at her, "It is true. They all left us when we were younger."

"All? You mean you have more than two parents?" Starfire asked with confusion.

"No Star," Kira said with a sigh, "Technically speaking Drake isn't really my brother. We were all adopted from different places around the world. To keep it secret I guess, the people that adopted us were posing to be a couple as an illusion to pass the legal parts. We were to young to know any different when we were later placed in a white room with other children and some toys. The next day our training began."

When she finished her statement her face went blank slightly but she was brought back when Speedy placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Other children? There are more of you?" Bumble Bee asked in curiousity.

"No," Drake answered for her, "the four of us were the only ones who survived the mixing of DNA. The rest died since their bodies denied the new DNA."

"How many?" Cyborg asked.

"Not including the four of us?" Kira asked, "at least a dozen others."

That number was a stab at each Titans heart, and the fact that they couldn't do anything about it made it feel deeper.

"So what you mean to tell us is that out of about twenty of you only four lived?" Beast Boy sadly put it bluntly for everyone around.

"Yes," Drake said with a sigh.

"The other two," Robin asked, "who are they?"

"Our eldest brother is named Oren. His DNA is based off of big cats such as panthers and tigers. You can spot him easily in a crowd, he'd be the only one with a layer of fur. His senses are stronger than a human's and his reflexes are amazing. He could reach cheetah speed but maintain it for longer then just a few minutes and he was the brain of the group, smartest of the bunch. My older sister Kira's little sister, Iris, has lizards running through her. Unlike the rest of us her abilities only gave her a tough layer of armor on her skin and the vision ability of a chameleon…"

"Dude! That means she can look at two places at once!"

"Thank you for that Discovery Channel info, Beast Boy. You were saying?" Cyborg said.

"Since she lacked strength or other unique features she was trained farther than any of us in weapon fighting. While we three on the other hand were taught in hand to hand combat. With the knowledge of our abilities we were trained to use and wield them to their fullest extent."

When Drake was finished speaking the gang just became silent. Not having any other questions come to mind. When no one spoke Bumble Bee made a comment.

"It's already past sunset we'd better get going."

"I'd rather stay!"

Speedy said suddenly, against his leader. Robin looked over at him and noted that he was keeping Kira in a stable condition. With that helpful knowledge he looked to Bumble Bee and said, "Titans East is welcomed to stay if they so chose to."

With the simple word 'stay' Mas y Menos knew what that meant and jumped for joy. Bumble Bee accepted the offer and Aqualad didn't mind it either. The one who was the happiest was Speedy who barely took his eyes off of Kira. Drake noted this action quite clearly, but didn't react in any way.

"Then it's settled," Robin said, "I guess we're having a sleep over now."

Suddenly Drake's attention was back on Robin and he knew what the question was.

"I believe as a brother of Kira you are welcomed here anytime you'd like."

"Thank you, I appreciate your offer greatly."

Drake turned and walked toward Kira. He somewhat shoved Speedy off of Kira and said, "Don't worry little one, I'll take care of you."

She smiled at him but not by much. There was pain behind her eyes and any happiness she might have felt was over powered by those emotions. But she soon smiled quickly when Mas y Menos came over and started flooding her with the latest news of Aqualad and Speedy fighting, they were amusing stories to her.

Everyone then started having calm conversations before settling in bed. Drake was informing Beast Boy of his times down in Miami. Cyborg and Bumble Bee were having their usual discussions. Aqualad was trying to converse with Speedy but his attention was solely to watch Kira, near or far.

During all this Robin noticed that Raven slipped out of the room. Out of curiosity he followed her. He was able to catch her just before she entered her room.

"Raven! You all right?"

"I'm fine," she said with a monotonic voice.

"Yeah and your room isn't black. What's wrong?"

She looked at him and stared.

"It's about Drake isn't it?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"Why do you ask?"

"You have a problem with him. You didn't with Kira but you have a problem with him. Why?"

"I don't trust him. Something about the way he's acting it…it just doesn't feel right to me."

"Raven, we trust Kira and evidently she trusts him. That should be enough reason."

"He's been separated from her for nearly a year. A lot of things could have changed him since then."

"Raven you're overreacting…"

"I'm overreacting! What happened the last time I didn't trust someone that entered this building?"

"Raven…"

"What happened!"

Robin sighed and then answered her, "Terra betrayed us all and nearly killed us."

With that said Raven felt as if her point was proven.

"But in the end she helped us and proved to us who she really was. A friend."

Raven glared back at his combat and just said, "That may be so but he isn't Terra."

She wouldn't hear another word out of him and simply faded into her bedroom. Robin stared at her door and said, "I get your point. I'll keep an eye on him."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

The night fell quickly and all went to sleep. The boys from Titans East slept with Drake in the living room while Bumble Bee took a spare room filled only half way with junk. Things were going fine in nearly every room. Except one.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Kira, Kira, wake up!"

Kira bolted up with a dampened face and an out of breath body. She looked up and saw Raven floating over her bed.

"Wha…what's going on?" she said unaware of her surroundings.

"You were having a nightmare. It was so strong that you woke me up."

"Oh sorry, Raven."

"Kira? The images I saw. What were they from?"

Kira didn't look at her, she just stared at a wall and rubbed at her arms as if she was cold.

"I…I'm not sure. I've been having that dream since I was little. It never changes and it never goes away."

"What do you see?"

"I see a girl with short black hair sleeping. She…she wakes up, something wakes her up. Something disturbing. She's scared but she goes toward the sound none the less. It sounds like pain, like someone's suffering. There are halls, big white halls. There's a door, opened and there's someone screaming from the room. Her fear grows but she's worried about who's screaming. Next thing I know she's in the room. One similar to her own. There's only a bed with a boy in it. Paled face and red hair. He's tossing and turning in pain yelling for help through his screams. She goes to him. She doesn't know what else to do but run to him. She held his hand and caressed his forehead. He looks up at her and smiles. It seems like his pain goes away since she's there."

She stopped she didn't say anything else.

"What happens next?"

"I don't know. I never remember the end of the dream. That's as far as my mind remembers."

"Lets you."

"Excuse me?"

"Kira, who was the boy?"

"I don't know."

"What about the girl, who's she?"

Kira looked at her for a minute and then said, "I…I don't know. I don't know who either of them are."

"Are you sure?"

Kira didn't respond at first but then she looked Raven in the eyes and said, "No, I don't know who they are but…but I feel like I should."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

A/N: Sorry that it has been so long since an update. Hopefully the next chapter won't take this long.


	6. Chapter 6: Close but No Cigar

Six: Close but No Cigar

After one night in the Tower, Drake took off, saying that he didn't think he was cut out for hero business, and he thought he might go hunting for the other two members of their little group. Promising to keep in touch, he had left. That was just over a week ago and things were starting to get back to normal. Or at least what passes for normal in Jump City. Which means that Mad Mod had only tried to take over a portion of the city instead of the hole thing, and Johnny Rancid just tore up a few streets.

XXXXX

Kira walked out of the bathroom, hair still soaking wet when she heard her Titan communicator beeping from the dresser. "Serpienta here."

"Hey...uh Kira?"

Kira saw Roy on the other end. "Oh hey Roy. What do you need?"

"Um...I was calling because I have a favor—uh—a request to ask." He appeared to have been blushing slightly and had a hard time looking at Kira.

"Shoot." She stated curiously.

"Uh...you see GA had gotten a hold of some tickets for the Broadway show _The Lion King _and he gave me a couple. And I was wondering if you'd be willing to go with me and catch a bite to eat and stuff..."

"Roy?" He gazed at her through the communicator with a deer in the headlights look. "Are you asking me out?" Kira asked with a smirk.

"Uh—no—not exactly." He looked at her and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Well...yes—yes I was." He said with a look of defeat.

"I'd loved to go."

Roy perked up at this answer. "Really? I—I mean so I'll pick you up at noon on Saturday, okay?"

"I'll see you then."

"Uh bye."

Kira's communicator went black and she stared at it with a smile. She ran out the door screaming, "Kory! Raven! I need to go shopping!"

XXXXX

Over at Steel City, Speedy was sluggishly smiling to himself.

"She said yes! She said yes!"

He heard giggling behind him and found Mas y Menos running out of the room.

"Oh, no you two don't."

But before he could do anything Mas y Menos were chanting in the main room, "Roy y Kira!"

"So?" Bumble Bee asked behind Speedy.

"You finally asked her out?" Aqualad finished for her.

Speedy turned to his comrades and gave them a happy grin.

XXXXX

Saturday had come sooner than expected and Kira was excited all morning long. She was thrilled and had gone through her outfits twice before Raven hid all but one. With the lack of any other outfits Kira settled with what was left. She didn't mind really, the blue dress that Starfire choose complimented her well. It had a corset style top that accentuated her full chest and a skirt that stopped about mid thigh, perfect for showing off her long legs. She spun in front of the mirror for the umpteenth time.

"So, what show are you going to see?" Raven asked her.

"Oh," she looked at her floating friend. "I think he said, _The Lion King_ on Broadway."

"Broadway?" Beastboy asked, "But Broadway's in New York City."

"Huh?" Kira gave a confused look. She was well aware that New York was on the other side of the continent.

"Don't worry, kid. Your _boyfriend_ here has it all covered," Ted said while walking into the room.

"Ted!" Kira screamed while running up to him in a big hug.

"Hey, kid. Nice to see you too."

"Ahem." Kira looked behind and found Roy dressed nicely in a pair of khakis, a long sleeved grey polo shirt, and a navy sport coat was being held over his shoulder.

"Wow," Kira barely whispered in Ted's ear. He chuckled a little at her comment. She blushed slightly when she noticed he heard her.

When Roy got the full view of Kira's outfit he grew speechless and tried hard not to blush. She smiled and said, "Do you like? Kory thought you'd appreciate the blue more." Roy gulped really hard and nodded. "I...I do. You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me grab my shoes!" She ran over to the mirror and grabbed the pair of heels on the floor. As she stood up she stopped and really looked at herself in the mirror.

"What's wrong, kid?"

She looked back at Roy and looked him up and down, then she looked back at herself. "I can't go. I can't go out like this." She turned away from the mirror in disgust. "We're not going to a meta club. This isn't a JLA party. We're going to where real people are. People who I don't look like."

The room was silent from her comment. Even though Starfire was orange people didn't really notice her. Kira was getting stared at when she was shopping for new outfits. Even then she felt like a freak show in a circus.

"Kira..." Roy approached her. She gave him her back, she couldn't look at him. Her memory brought back a line Drake said to her years ago, _"We are what we are. Monsters."_ She knew he was right.

"Hey, Kira." The young snake looked over her shoulder toward the voice. Robin stood there holding something small in his hands. "I thought that might be an issue so I asked Cyborg to lone you these." He handed her a pair of rings. "Put one on each middle finger."

"What do they do?"

"Put 'em on," the dark haired boy insisted.

Kira slipped one ring on her middle finger then placed the other one on her other hand. Instantly her skin changed color and texture completely. Her scales were gone they were replaced by human skin. She spun toward the mirror, staring back at her was an unfamiliar face. A tanned girl with long black hair and chocolate colored eyes gapped back at her. Her scales were all gone and not an ounce of yellow was on her flesh. Her eyes were still slanted but she appeared to be part Asian in that sense. Her figure didn't change either. She opened her mouth and summoned her fangs, which did respond.

"You still have all your powers, your appearance is just masked." Robin was informing her.

Kira was in her own world playing Narcissus.

"Kira," Robin took one of the rings off. Her illusion faded and she faced her normal self. She glared at him for bringing her back. "It's just an illusion. Remember that."

"I know!" she said defensively putting the ring back on. "I'm ready." She smiled at Roy and Ted in her human mirage human form. Roy smiled at her, not as big as he did when he first entered the room, but smiled non the less. He offered his arm to her, she blinked at first then took his arm and the two followed Ted up to the roof of the tower. Waiting outside was a strange white aircraft. The boarding ramp was down, and as they entered they were greeted by a man wearing an aging leather flight jacket

"Good afternoon, I'm Captain Jordan, and I will be your pilot for the afternoon. Once you get settled in, we will be on our way. Flights gonna be just under four hours to New York City so get comfortable."

XXXXX

"Lady and gentlemen we have arrived at our destination. Please remain seated till the airplane has come to a complete stop. Thank you for flying with Queen Industries, and when you see Ollie, tell him that poker is at my house this weekend."

When the jet landed Kira noticed they were on the roof of a large old style building.

"Where are we?" she asked the other two.

"The Brownstone. Headquarters of the JSA."

"JSA?"

"Justice Society of America, my old team from World War II. We broke up in the 50's but several of us old timers joined up with the JLU. After a bit we decided to reopen this place, and we have been working together again. Feels nice not to be running around with a bunch of kids half my age."

"Ah, even those of us half your age have trouble keeping up with you Ted."

A well kept good looking middle-aged blond man stood there in a dark blue suit with a green turtleneck instead of a dress shirt. His goatee looked good on him and the word 'rich' was what his appearance screamed.

"Ollie, nice to see you," Roy forced the words out. "This is my date Kira..." He realized he never caught her last name but then thought did she even have one.

Before there was more silence Kira stepped up to shake his hand and said, "Nice to see you again, _bow boy_."

Oliver opened his mouth at first then remembered who called him that last time. "Good to see you, my dear." He took her hand and gave it a kiss. Roy felt a little stepped on, he barely had the guts to take her hand let alone kiss it.

Oliver stepped back looked at Ted and said, "Thanks for bringing them in. How was the flight?" The question was posed to all of them, only Ted replied.

They followed him through what looked like an old museum filled with the costumes of superheroes long forgotten. Kira was to distracted with the strange uniforms and old relics that surrounded her she didn't really pay attention to much of what Oliver was saying. When they reached the front door Ted said his farewell to Kira. He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Have fun, kid." Then he hopped on his motorcycle that was waiting for him out front.

Shortly after he left a beautiful blond woman walked out to meet them. "Ah, Dinah are you ready to go?" Oliver offered his arm to her.

"Isn't she..?" Kira asked.

"Dinah Lance? Yes," Roy said before she finished. "She's been his interest for a while now."

Dinah Lance better known to most as Black Canary. Oliver knew how to pick his women.

A few moments later a limousine pulled up in front of them.

"Ollie, did you forget about what we talked about?" Roy asked slightly annoyed.

"Nope. I just decided to ignore you." He smiled at him while holding the door open for everyone.

Roy, Kira, and Dinah climbed in then Oliver. The ride seemed really quiet the whole way to the restaurant. Roy seemed slumped next to Kira but she was enjoying the view. She'd never been to the heart of New York, everything was new to her. When she worked at Chaney's she was limited to areas that only other metas went to, being able to actually go to the main part of the city was an adventure for her.

Finally, the silence was beginning to drive her nuts. "Where are we going?"

"Morton's," Oliver stated, "It's a lovely steakhouse in Manhattan."

The mention of steak made Kira eagerly hungry as she licked her lips. Roy caught this action and suddenly grew very hot. "Hungry?" he asked her.

"Very. I had a small breakfast and the appetizers on the flight weren't enough." She noticed Roy was staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing," he said smiling and looking out the window again. He caught Oliver smirking at him, he brushed it off.

They arrived at the restaurant a little before five. When the door opened Oliver and Dinah stepped out first. Kira followed after Roy into the restaurant. She was in slight awe at the sights of New York around her, but that stopped when she entered the restaurant and caught the scent of the well aged beef..

The Host stopped her on the way in, "I'm sorry my lady but we require that you don your footwear."

Kira forgot that her shoes were still in her hands. She looked down embarrassed slightly.

"Robert, my friend. Is there a problem with my guest here?" Oliver questioned.

When the host recognized Oliver he said, "No, Mr Queen. None what so ever. Would you like your usual table?"

"Please."

Kira was about to bend down to put her shoes on but Roy stopped her. "It's alright. No one cares." His smile and words reassured her and she started to beam again.

They were given a private table in the back and service was given immediately. Oliver asked for a wine from his rack and he and Dinah enjoy a few glasses. When the server came asking for their appetizer decisions Kira asked boldly if she could just skip to the entrée. The server said absolutely but grew pale when she ordered a Double Porterhouse, a Jumbo Baked Idaho Potato, and a Jumbo Lobster Tail as a side order.

When he ran off to place their orders Oliver looked at her in surprised. "My my we have an appetite."

"I'm hungry," she said simply.

Her order took long enough that she was served dinner the same time the others were. Before that she simply ate a basket of bread. The conversation for dinner was pretty bland. Kira noted they had to have normal people conversations, so asking about that jump out the window in channel nine was not an appropriate topic.

When their server brought them the check he became slightly fearful of Kira when he noticed that she finished her entire order, not an ounce of food was left on her plates. However, his shock faded when they left and he discovered Oliver had tipped him nearly fifty percent of the bill.

The car ride to the theater was entertaining. Kira was over taken by the neon lights she kept jumping over Roy's lap every five minutes to get a better view out the other window. Each time she caused Roy to freeze as she splayed across his lap. He was careful with where his hands were whenever she was draped across him, and he did his best to keep her skirt from flying up at rapid movements. Oliver was grinning like the cat that ate the canary and the Canary was trying her hardest not to laugh at the fate of poor Roy. When they arrived at the theater there were cameras everywhere. Reporters and flashes instantly started to snap when their limo pulled up.

"Apparently the media discovered we were coming," Oliver stated as a matter of fact.

"Apparently," Roy said.

Kira looked a little uneasy she was never known to be the center of attention before. She was working on putting on her shoes, she didn't want to cause trouble this time. Roy seemed pissed at all the reporters. They got out of the limo and Oliver came out smiling and waving at the cameras. He and Dinah walked threw without much trouble. Kira stood clung to Roy trying to hide behind him. When the people asked him who his 'lovely' date was he simply said, "A friendly acquaintance."

When they got inside Kira breathed in deeply, happy to be away from the crowd.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Doing better now. I'm not used to that."

"Trust me it gets old."

They found their seats rather quickly with the help of the ushers. She was surprised when she found that they were front row center. After waiting a bit for the show to start Kira finally asked, "So, what's this about?"

Dinah looked over at her and asked, "You've never seen _The Lion King_?"

She shook her head embarrassed a bit.

"It's a great story about a lion cub, named Simba, who learns to find his place in his home. It's based off the Disney movie _The Lion King,_" Roy informed her. "You'll like it, I promised."

As he said this last word the lights dimmed down and the show started. Kira was in awe of the performers, the costumes, the music everything about the show just attracted her. At the end of the performance she couldn't help but applaud loudly.

When they left the seating area Kira floated over to the restroom. When she came out she noted Roy on one side of the hall, Oliver and Dinah were on the other side. Roy signaled her over to him, she came. Oliver looked over at them and gave a look at Roy.

"We'll be right there!" he said over the crowd. "Block his view of me."

Kira did as he asked and stood in front of him. Roy pulled out a communicator, it wasn't a Titans one because she didn't recognize it, it was also smaller than the one she normally dealt with. When he switched it on the face of a masked black man appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Mr. T. It's Speedy could you do me a favor?" Roy asked.

"It's been a slow day, what can I do for you?" Mister Terrific responded.

"Ollie, here has been driving me nuts throughout my entire date here. Is there any way you can get me and this beautiful girl with me over to Central Park."

"I think I can allow that, but I will make you sit monitor duty for this."

"Sure, but could you make it quick."

"Roy! Come on!"

Kira turned to see Oliver heading toward their direction. Suddenly she saw a flash of light and the next thing she knew they were in Central Park

"Oh, wow," Kira said.

"We probably have a max of about twenty minutes before Ollie figures out where we are. Shall we?" Roy asked offering his arm.

Just before she took it she pulled off her shoes. "Ah! Much better, yes! I've never been here."

"Wanna see the lake?"

"Yeah."

They started walking Roy leading the way the moonlight and dimmed lights were all that lit the way. It had started to go quiet so Roy thought to change the mood. "Truth or dare?"

Kira paused before thinking. She never played but heard about the rules from television.

"Truth."

"Is it true you have super squeezing strength?"

"Depends on which part of my body you're referring to."

Roy gave her an arched eyebrow.

"I could force the air out of you with just my legs."

"Just your legs?"

"Yeah, why?"

Roy's eyes went from confused to shocked. He stopped walking and before he knew it he was starting at her long legs. Kira's hand showed in his vision signaling him to look up.

"My eyes are up here, fast boy." He blushed.

She smirked. "Truth or dare?"

To fearful of what truth might be Roy spat dare.

"I dare you to hit that soda can." She pointed to a can on top of a trash can on the side of the path. He sighed in relief at getting such an easy dare. "Using only this piece of paper." She handed him a spare sheet from her pamphlet. He stopped from reaching in his back pocket and took the paper in disappointment. He crumbled in and then flicked it to the can. He just skimmed the surface of the can as it fell back into the trash can. He smiled proudly back at her. "Smooth," she cooed at him.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Why does Drake hate everyone but you?"

"He...he doesn't hate you guys he just needs to warm up. Give him time."

Roy was going to respond but she proceeded with the game to quickly.

"Truth."

"Why did people stare at you all day?"

"Oh. Well, I'm the adopted son of the multimillionaire Oliver Queen. I'm like a little celebrity to the media. It's actually annoying, all the attention and stuff. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

He stopped and looked at her, "Are you afraid of saying 'dare?'"

She smiled and leaned closer to him, "No. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Why did you ask me out?"

He looked back at her, his expression was hard to place but he was surprised by the question. He stared at those almond eyes, they weren't the usual black that he liked to look at. "Isn't it obvious?"

She looked at him confused.

He gulped then grew the courage to say the next few words, "I like you."

She grew wide eyes. "But—but you like the other girls on the team. And they're far prettier than—,"

"Truth or dare?" he cut her off. She grimaced back at him. He stepped closer to her getting her to walk backwards. She backed off and then found themselves under a tree her back leaning on the trunk. The two hidden in the dark shadows of the tree branches.

"Truth or dare?" he pressed the game on.

"Dare," she said not letting him get the chance to ask her any more questions.

"Turn off the rings."

She blinked uncertainly. He reached his hand up and removed one of her rings. She saw her scales come back and lowered her head in a depressing fashion. He lifted her chin up and made her look at him.

"You shouldn't frown. It doesn't suit you. Not one bit."

With every word said his face grew closer to hers.

"Truth or dare?" she whispered.

"Truth." He played along.

"Why do you keep getting closer to me?"

Their lips were merely inches away...

XXXXX

A/N: Oh wow, we're back. And we go and leave it on a near kiss. If you are actually reading this don't worry, another chapter is about half written, and at least one more is outlined. So we should be back soon. Till Then.


End file.
